You'll catch your death... or not.

I walked out of the College this afternoon and immediately broke into the Hallelujah Chorus of sneezing... once I'd made it through that last crescendo ("Aaaaaaaaaaa -AAAAAAAAAA- CCCCChhhhhhhooooooo") I breathed in deeply from the pollen soaked air around me... and thus welcomed spring-time into my sinuses.

At first there was a moment of panic. I have a cold!  Then, the reality set in... I'll just be popping antihistamines for a month or so.

However, on the subject of colds (of which we've had waaay to much experience this season), I'd like to address the following myth(s).

You can catch a cold from a) the draft from an open window or b) from being out in the cold.

Neither of these are true.  Only a cold virus can give you a cold. So being cold, in and of itself, can't make you sick.

However... being cold and wet can cause a dormant virus (one that's already in your system) to pop up it's ugly l'il head.

At Cardiff University a few years ago, a group of 90 warm-hearted folks soaked their feet in ice water for 20 minutes. Over the next five days, the Popsicle-toed group had twice as many colds as the control of 90 who didn't... um...well, get cold feet.

So, here's what the lab coats say... Being chilled causes the blood vessels in the nose to constrict, shutting off the warm blood that supplies infection-fighting white blood cells. Since most of us are carrying around cold germs (a 'la Contagion), when we get chilled it's harder to fight off the effects.  And then Mom seems right when she hollars out, "Bundle up and stay dry or you'll catch your death of cold!"





Now you know...

A Chat Not Had

A month or so ago I dreamed about Dad.

I was standing outside near the front door of his house.  I looked down the sidewalk to see Dad standing at the driveway.  In my dream we chatted for sometime; me on one side of the long sidewalk and him on the other.  For some reason I believed that he would return to that spot on a regular basis.  "Oh, good!" I said, pulling up a white plastic chair.  "I'll just leave this chair here to use every time you come by!  I'll be able to ask you questions and we can talk about stuff."

And then he started to fade from view.  I remember stepping closer, not wanting him to leave yet, realizing at that moment that I didn't know when he'd return.  There I was, holding my hands out to him, crying as he slipped from view.

Then I awoke, quietly sobbing in darkness. 

And he really was gone.  And he really hadn't come back to answer my questions.  And there really wasn't a white plastic chair, ready to catch me as I heaved myself into it at the end of the day; waiting for him to arrive.

Waiting for the chat that never really will happen. 

Ever again.

Midnight Run to IHOP!

For those who don't know, Suzi loves breakfast for dinner.  When we lived in Columbia a few years ago, an IHOP opened nearby.  It became Suzi's heartfelt desire to make a late night trip for breakfast... thus was born the Midnight Run to IHOP.  

On February 29, 2008, a group of us met at 12AM in Columbia for breakfast.  The plan was simple, meet at midnight, eat and hit the road.  It was a rousing success and we decided to make it a regular occurrence every Leap Year... well, as regular as 4 years later can be considered regular.

So, it's  Leap Year 2012... and it's time for another Midnight Run!  Join us at the Conley Road location in Columbia or hit an IHOP of your own at midnight on Wednesday, February 29th!

SUZI: Outsmarted By a One Year Old

Cooper is a good eater.  He eats when he’s hungry and doesn’t when he’s not.  If he misses a meal or two when he’s sick or grazes lightly for a few days, I’ve never had to worry about it.  I’ve never really adjusted what I cook for him (except when he was just starting to eat solids).  I don’t even really adjust the spices for him.  He loves all kinds of things.  He loves salsa, chili, soups and even curry.  He always wants to try whatever I’m eating or whatever I’m cooking.  This is a good thing, right?  Except when he’s desperate to try things like flour.  Yes, flour.  For a long time I told him that we don’t eat flour, that it was yucky, and that he would eat it as part of the final product.  Those things somehow never seemed to satisfy him though.

The next time he asked, I had a brilliant idea.  I’m the adult here.  I’m the one with the more developed brain.  I can outsmart this kid.  Why hadn’t I thought of it before?  If he’s so desperate to taste the flour, I’ll let him taste it.  Then he can see that it is gross, and he’ll quit asking.  So I put a tiny bit on my finger, secretly grinning at the pleasure of putting a stop to the constant begging to eat the flour, and gave him a taste. 

“Yummmmm…More.” 

What?! 

“More.”

I’m not sure why I didn’t learn my lesson on that one.  I applied the same tactic to salt.

“More.”

Coffee. 

“More.”

Frozen French fries.

“More.”

Yes, folks, I’ve been continually outsmarted by a person who calls himself “Coo Coo.”

Take Care So Much

Perhaps I just finished a call at work by saying, "OK, take care so much..." There were no pauses.  The "Thanks" that was supposed to go with "so much" just didn't appear.  Then the call was over.  And I wanted to immediately call back and say, "Here's the 'Thanks' I dropped on the floor a moment ago..."

But I didn't.  I just let that nice person think I was nuts.

So, I leave you with Brian Regan on this Tuesday...

SUZI: Pushing the Pause Button

We started this blog when we moved overseas as a tool for our family, friends, and supporters to keep updated about our lives.  We’ve shared personal stories, posted pictures and shared thoughts on a myriad of topics.  Since we’ve returned home it has somehow moved down the list of priorities.  Amid a house that has been turned upside down in construction for months, a new career for Scott, major family/church changes (i.e. Scott’s dad passing away), it’s just not on the top of our list right now.  January is a crazy, crazy, absolutely packed month – Scott’s preparing for several events at his job, Suzi’s working to get baseboards painted so carpet can be laid at the end of the month, we’re preparing to transition to some new financial software at the church and, of course, we’re trying to have lots of fun with the little guy.

We don’t want to feel pressured about not writing…that wasn’t the original intent of doing this.  Yet, “Write something for the blog!  Write something for the blog!” sort of looms over our heads.  So, we’re taking a month off.  You won’t see anything new from us in January except maybe some pictures on Facebook.  It’s just one of those seasons of life where you have to cut out any extraneous things!

Have a great month, and hope to see you in February!

My Li'l Poser

A few days ago, while brushing her teeth, Suz realized Cooper was copying her in mirror. Now we can get a "smile" with the command, "Cooper, show us your teeth!"

This has opened up all sorts of photo ops... It's also created a monster of cuteness. Cooper has started posing for pictures.  He leans over, maybe because I'm leaning in to get the shot.  And his li'l smile is at full wattage.  I don't know how much cuter this kid can get without causing me to implode.